I was recently honoured to be part of the Japanese Traditional Tea ceremony at The Tea and Wine lounge , situated at Radisson Blu Atria , Bangalore.

(image courtesy : Expedia.com)

Located at the lobby , The Tea and Wine lounge has magnanimous look with its skylight high ceiling and visually appealing humming fountains.Absolutely perfect place for meetings , be it for business or loved ones as it has a very relaxed luxurious ambience where one can experience the best of teas and wines with snacks.

The Japanese Traditional Tea ceremony

Popularly known as CHANOYU, SADO or simply OCHA in Japanese ,the tea ceremony is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea, called MATCHA. The tea is served together with traditional Japanese sweets to balance with the bitter taste of the tea.

Preparing tea in this ceremony requires pouring all ones attention into the predefined movements.

“The whole process is not about drinking tea, but is about aesthetics, preparing a bowl of tea from ones heart. The host of the ceremony always considers the guests with every movement and gesture.”

The guest’s viewpoint is very important during these ceremonies and it is evident from the placement of the tea utensils from the guest’s viewpoint (angle), especially the main guests called the SHOKYAKU ( 正客 ) Shokyaku So,you are as Shokyaku (Principle guest) today

Also known as the Way of the Tea, the Japanese Tea ceremony Japanese tea ceremony is the traditional method of preparing and drinking MATCHA, or powdered green tea. The ceremony is called SADO (茶道) or CHANOYU(茶の湯) in Japanese culture. The manner in which the event is performed is called OTEMAE.

Principles of Zen Buddhism

Highly influenced by the principles of Zen Buddhism, the Tea gatherings are classified as CHAJI (茶事) or CHAKAI (茶会).

A Chakai is a simple hospitality event that includes thin tea, confections, and a light meal. A chaji is a formal gathering that includes a full course KAISEKI meal followed by confections, thick tea, and then thin tea. A CHAJI ceremonial gathering lasts for at least four hours.

Origins of Tea Ceremony

It was in the 6th century when the earliest tea ceremony came to Japan, as a important ritual of Buddhist meditation. The first ever recorded document of tea in Japan dates back to a Buddhist monk, EICHU, as he arrived from China in the 9th century. It is believed that Eichu had served green tea personally tea to Emperor Saga in 819 during Karasaki trip.

The credit of introducing TENCHA (tea preparation) to Japan goes to another Buddhist monk named EISAI during the late 12th century who brought with high quality tea leaves seeds with him.

The tea became a status symbol of the warrior class during the Kamakura Shogunate era. It also saw the advent of tea-tasting parties inpractice in Japan, regardless of society level. Many tea ceremony schools have evolved throughout the history of CHADO and are still active today.

Six health claims contained in green tea…

Obesity prevention

Matcha contains tea catechin which burns body fat efficiently, so it is useful for obesity prevention and effective for dieting.

Unlike other tea, matcha is ground powder enabling ingesting the whole tea leaf. Only water-soluble components can be ingested from green tea made by hot water normally, but the whole tea leaf can be ingested from matcha, allowing consumption of abundant good nutrients found in tea leaves.